Speeches by Phillipson.

“I do recognise the long-standing challenge in this area. As you will know, FE colleges, rather than the Government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. When it comes to the recommendation around a statutory pay review body, I appreciate the Committee’s interest in this area. All statutory F…”

“Understood.”

“FE colleges, like many public bodies, cannot recover the VAT they incur, whereas some educational institutions can. We keep all taxes under review. Any changes would need to be considered in the context of the broader public finances, and matters around taxation are ultimately above my pay grade, I’m sorry to say.”

“It will be non-statutory guidance, but we do expect schools to follow and implement guidance that is set out for them. I believe that in this area schools are seeking to do the right thing. These are questions about young people and their wellbeing. We can sometimes be talking about young people experiencing distress o…”

“I am afraid I am not able to give you a date. I do recognise its importance, but I also believe that it is important that we get this right for young people and their wellbeing and for schools, so that they are confident and clear about the guidance that is set out.”

“We are still reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance. We have been looking through the consultation responses, discussing it with stakeholders and considering the evidence, including the final report of Dr Hilary Cass. I do want to get this right. I want to make sure that schools have the guidance that they need. Th…”

“As you know, we inherited draft guidance that applied to children and young people in schools. We have been looking very carefully at that, working with stakeholders, and we intend to publish the guidance. I think it was right that we made sure that the guidance aligned with the final recommendations from Dr Hilary Cas…”

“Teaching about democracy and elections goes hand in hand with extending votes to 16, to make sure that young people are engaged positively around this. I stress that schools have to maintain their duties of political impartiality, but of course, schools are an important place where people, through education, can challe…”

“We cannot accept the recommendation because we are not in a position to make any changes in this area in the wider context of the public finances. Of course, we continue to discuss with the Treasury all questions that relate to funding for education settings, and this is an area that is frequently raised with me, not j…”

“We are taking action in the key areas where we know we need to recruit and retain more teachers. The emphasis that we have put on education as a central driver, and making teaching an attractive place to be in terms of both pay and the wider changes around workload and wellbeing, is important in that context too. There…”

“We committed to introducing an international student levy through the immigration White Paper. We looked at the best way of implementing that levy. I want to stress that international students make an important contribution to our country and institutions. We have engaged with the sector on this and set out our plans a…”

“I am not sure of the exact figures.”

“It is an important step forward and reintroduces the principle of maintenance grant support for the first time in many years. It aligns with the introduction of the international student levy, so the money raised through the levy will be reinvested into support for domestic students. It is not the only way that we can …”

“Well, let’s see. It is an important shift and a step forward. It is clearly only one part of a wider approach needed around access and participation. There is also more that we will want to see from providers in working together to collaborate to ensure that young people are aware of the benefits and opportunities that…”

“I understood that the public finances were under significant pressure. That had been the case for some time. As the Chancellor set out, the impact of austerity, the impact of Brexit and the impact of the decisions taken at Liz Truss’s mini-Budget have all placed considerable strain on the public finances. That means we…”

“It is not subject-specific; it relates to secondary and special schools.”

“I am Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary. Thank you for the opportunity to update members on the progress that the Department has made since we last met. It has been a busy year for education and for our mission to break the link between background and success. I want to take a moment of the Committee’s time to…”

“We welcome the Committee’s report and work in this area. I want to thank you and Committee members for your valuable recommendations, which we are carefully considering as part of the wider reform that we intend to set out. We are working very closely with parents, carers and others. Just today, we launched our nationa…”

“Financial sustainability is important, but I emphasise that even if that were not a challenge, we would need to make the system better. We can all recognise that outcomes for children with SEND are far away from where we want them to be. How hard parents have to fight for support—that needs to change. There is obviousl…”

“As I say, today we launched the national conversation on SEND. Over the last year, I have spent a lot of time speaking to parents, carers, teachers, disability rights groups and others. We have had our advisory group—our experts—working with us to support that. We have also established our SEND development group, which…”